My daughter has head lice again. My husband called the pediatrician’s office, thinking maybe we should get a prescription for Kwell. He spoke to the nurse, who is an absolute angel, and knows more about kid stuff than anyone I’ve ever met.
She suggested a non-drug remedy. Mix one part rubbing alcohol and one part white vinegar, and apply it to the kid’s hair. You don’t have to let it sit, like you do with other lice removing products. This loosens the glue that the nits use to attatch themselves to the hair. Comb the nits out, then wash hair normally.
I tried it. It works. Oh, boy, does it work! I found several nits, and they just combed right out. A few that were closer to her scalp I had to use tweezers on, but those pulled right out no problem.
Anyone else got any good non-drug (or non-prescription) remedies for stuff? Doesn’t have to be lice. Doesn’t have to be a remedy for a medical problem, either. Got a great way to get a stain off a couch, or corrosion off a battery? Share it here!
For common dust allergies and hay fever, extract of stinging nettle works wonders. You can get it in tincture form or capsule. I’ve been taking the capsules for over a year, and no longer need Claritin or Flonase.
Deodorized garlic capsules have been shown to strengthen the immune system, as well as helping to lower blood pressure.
A good place to ask and read about the effects of natural remedies is http://www.drweil.com .
for those aches and pains in your joints and stuff:
concentrated cherry juice (I think it may even be dried cherry juice judging by the taste). take a few tsps. (have to dilute w/water in order to get the stuff down)
According to my SO, it really helped his aches and pains (except, of course, for the nagging pain in his neck that he’s had for 14 years, 6 months, 10 days, 12 hours 15 mintues and 33 seconds but who’s counting)
Available (as far as I know) only through some limited places - the ones I know about are cider mills in Mid Michigan.
If you have a headache, try drinking some water. Not juice or pop or milk, but plain old tap water.
Ginger tea works wonders for colds and for bad stomachs. Take a piece of ginger root, peel it, chop it up, put it in a pot with water and honey, and boil it until the water’s half gone.
This isn’t exactly “drug-free” and I certainly don’t condone irresponsible use of such substances, but marijuana really is the best cure I’ve ever run into for stomach flu/vomitting/nausea.
This one’s a little dangerous, and I wouldn’t use it on anyone but myself, but it does work. If you have a mosquito bite or other itchy spot that is driving you crazy, stick it under very hot water for a second or two–long enough to say “Ow!” but not long enough to really hurt yourself.
Tough luck about the lice. I’m really not looking forward to the day I get that announcement. Why are they so common these days, anyway?
If you find you’re feeling just slightly bad at night (like you feel a cold coming on), drink a shot of Irish whisky (although I guess any strong alcohol might do) before you go to bed.
This has worked for me many times. I guess it’s the same thing as NyQuil without that pesky medicine getting in the way. Obviously, though, you can’t do it if you have a drinking problem or don’t drink alcohol.
Soak hair in olive oil and then wrap in plastic wrap and put on a shower cap or turban and leave it for 24 hrs. All the little nasties will die of suffocation and your hair will be very soft after you wash it. My friend has two little girls with very long hair and she swears by this.
I get chronic urinary tract infections. The standard method of treating these is to prescribe antibiotics to be taken prophylactically whenever something happens that will cause a flare-up. Since sex is a trigger for me and I was married when I got this prescription, I was taking the antibiotic (ahem) nearly every day. This bothered me because of the problems of antibiotic overuse. So I started reading up. I found out
An acidic environment encourages the infection, alkaline infections discourages it.
Excessive vitamin C (an acid) is excreted in urine.
Calcium increases the urine alkalinity.
Also from my own experience I found that dehydration and excessive sugar in the evening were also triggers.
So I started the following:
Drink lots of water
Take Calcium at night
Don’t take vitamin C at night
Avoid a lot of sugar before bed.
Since I’ve started this, the only flare-ups I’ve had were when I let myself become dehydrated, and I think I’ve refilled my antibiotic prescription maybe twice in the six or seven years since I started this.
Sunburn: dab vanilla extract on it - honestly! My son, when he was two had a hellatious sunburn (his dad took him to lake MI for the day :mad: ) and he was bright red, and didn’t want me to touch it or put anything on it. I talked him into letting me “spank the sunburn for hurting you” and applied the vanilla. Not only did it take away the pain, but it also made him smell sooooo sweet
The woman who writes Hints from Heloise says 70% of her questions can be answered with :: isopropyl alcohol, white cider vinegar, baking soda, and seltzer.
When I feel sick I do as the animals do: I crawl under stairs or behind couches and curl up into a ball. There are magic powers in these areas which miraculously cure any disease, and then I crawl back out, yawning and purring, and I’m better.
Shanin: I believe it kills them too, but don’t quote me. I didn’t ask the nurse about that. But hey, it’s rubbing alcohol. Pretty toxic!
Zyada: A previous doctor of mine from when I lived in another city recommended cranberry juice for bladder infections (like the pediatric nurse, this doctor preferred to try simpler known methods before drugs, if possible). That always worked for me. Would cranberry juice work for a UTI?
Miss B. Haven: I’ve been told about the oil & plastic wrap as well, but haven’t tried it yet. Baby oil was recommended to me, as was Vaseline, both by people who have used it with great success. I haven’t tried it because my daughter is only three, and I know she won’t keep a shower cap on her head overnight. I’m also a little leery about her choking or suffocating if the plastic wrap gets anywhere near her face. A question, though–is the oil difficult to wash out? I know Vaseline is an absolute nightmare to get out of one’s hair. :eek:
Whenever I start feeling ill, I drink a cup of tea with an echinacea capsule broken into it. For the rest of the day, I only drink hot water with lemon. Clears me up like a charm.
Details? Well, no personal experience, but the one lady I know that recommmended it did tell me it although it worked, it was a bear to get out. My husband also put Vaseline in his hair once, when he was working in a show band on a cruise ship, and they had a 50’s night. He wanted to slick his hair back. He says it took at least 20 washes.
I know you were expecting juicier details, wring. Sorry to let you down!
This bothered me because of the problems of antibiotic overuse. So I started reading up. I found out
: isopropyl alcohol, white cider vinegar, baking soda, and seltzer.